Relating to Zion as a Unified
Self: Part One

Introduction:

Each morning and evening, we
chant the following words:

“Hear O Israel, Hashem is our
God, Hashem is One!”
(Deuteronomy 6:4)

Maimonides writes in his “Book
of Mitzvos” that these words
contain the mitzvah “to believe
in the Unity of Hashem; that is
to say, to believe that the
Creator of all things in
existence and their First Cause
is One” (Mitzvah 2).

This proclamation of the Divine
Oneness and Unity is known as
the Shema, as it opens
with the Hebrew words, Shema
Yisrael – Hear O Israel.
Before we proclaim the message
of the Divine Oneness and Unity
to the world, we first call out
to our own people, so that each
of us can become an example of
this message. After all, each of
us is created in the image of
the Unified One; thus, each of
us has the potential to become
one and unified. In Part One of
this letter, we will discuss how
we can begin to develop a
unified self, and in Part Two of
this letter, we will start to
discuss how the unified self is
to relate to all aspects of our
life in Zion.

Dear Friends,

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
discusses the Shema in
“Horeb,” his classical work on
the mitzvos, and he writes:

“Everything comes from this One
God both in heaven and on earth,
and everything therefore
conforms to one design, is part
of one all-wise plan.

“But above all, the most vital
lesson to lay to heart is that
this One God is your God,
and that you have acknowledged
Him in order to live
rightly. Just as the world with
all its variety, history with
all its change, has its origin
in the One Source, is guided by
One Hand, serves One Being and
strives upward towards this One;
so must you recognize and feel
your life with all its changes
to issue from One Source, to be
guided by One Hand, to flow
toward one goal. You must
comprehend your life with all
its diversity as proceeding from
this One and you must direct it
towards this One, in order that
your life may be a unity just as
your God is One.”

Rabbi Hirsch adds: “Everything
is of equal significance, for in
everything and with everything
you have been summoned to the
service of the One God. Strive
to reach this One, and be one in
heart as your God is One.” (Horeb
Chapter 2)

The proclamation of the Divine
Unity is to remind us that our
own life is to be a unity
through serving Hashem, the
Compassionate and Life-Giving
One, in everything and with
everything. This is why the
Torah – the Divine Teaching –
calls on us to fulfill mitzvos
which elevate every area of our
existence. We must therefore
avoid a schizophrenic existence
where one part of our life is
dedicated to ideas and
activities which serve the
Divine purpose revealed in the
Torah, while another part of our
life is dedicated to ideas and
activities which negate this
Divine purpose. Instead, we are
to develop a unified self
through living a unified life.
In this spirit, I will review
the following story which some
of you may remember:

Over ten years ago, Aaron
Feuerstein, a seventy-year old
Torah-observant Jewish
businessman, received
international acclaim for
preserving the jobs of his
employees after a fire destroyed
his textile factory, Malden
Mills, in Lawrence,
Massachusetts, United States. In
an age of corporate downsizing,
he not only preserved their
jobs; he kept his employees on
the payroll for several months
until the factory reopened. In
addition, he continued their
health benefits. A number of
years later, CBS News had a
special report which reviewed
his altruistic decision, and it
stated:

…………………………………

He kept his promises. Workers
picked up their checks for
months. In all, he paid out $25
million and became known as the
Mensch of Malden Mills – a
businessman who seemed to care
more about his workers than
about his net worth.

The press loved him, and so did
politicians. President Clinton
invited him to the State of the
Union Address as an honored
guest. He also received 12
honorary degrees, including one
from Boston University.

He became that rare duck - the
businessman as national hero.

“I got a lot of publicity. And I
don’t think that speaks well for
our times,” says Feuerstein. “At
the time in America of the
greatest prosperity, the god of
money has taken over to an
extreme.”

For guidance he turns to the
Torah, the book of Jewish law.

”You are not permitted to
oppress the working man, because
he's poor and he’s needy,
amongst your brethren and
amongst the non-Jew in your
community,” says Feuerstein, who
spent $300 million of the
insurance money and then
borrowed $100 million more to
build a new plant that is both
environmentally friendly and
worker friendly. And it's a
union shop that never had a
strike. (The Mensch of Malden
Mills, CBS News, July 6, 2003)

………………………………

In September, 1996, Columbia
University honored Aaron
Feuerstein with its 1996
Botwinick Prize in Business
Ethics. Dr. Ismar Schorsch, who
was then the chancellor of the
Jewish Theological Seminary,
attended the ceremony, and he
gave the following report:

“A graduate of Yeshiva
University, Mr. Feuerstein
closed poignantly on a religious
note. In business, he said, he
merely carries out the dictates
of his daily prayers. Each
morning as he recites the
opening line of the Shema (which
he did on the spot), he affirms
the singular unity of God: the
God he worships in the synagogue
is the same God who inhabits his
home and who presides over his
business. One God alone informs
all that he does.”

Aaron Feuerstein demonstrated
that he did not live a
schizophrenic existence where
one part of his life is guided
by the principles of capitalism
and another part of his life is
guided by the principles of the
Torah. He developed a unified
self through allowing the
principles of the Torah to guide
“all” of his life.

Have a Unifying Shabbos,

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen (See
below)

Related Teachings and Comments:

1. The Mishnah cites the
following teaching in the name
of Rabbi Yose: “Let all your
deeds be for the sake of Heaven”
(Pirkei Avos 2:17).

With the right consciousness and
intention, all our activities
can become a unified service. In
this spirit, Rabbi Hirsch
writes: “The categories of
enjoyment and work that are not
prohibited are not only
permitted and approved, but they
come under the heading of
“mitzvah” and assume the
character of sacred, unselfish,
God-serving acts.” He adds:

“Indeed the totality of the
Jew’s existence is one of great
service to God – in his place of
work, in the circle of his
family, in his social
activities, in the most mundane
and the pettiest details of his
life. Even his dishes and
cutlery, his pots and pans, are
tools of his calling: ‘Every pot
in Jerusalem and Judah must be
dedicated to God of the hosts of
creation’ (Zechariah 14:21).”

The above teaching can be found
in, “Collected Writings of Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch,” Volume
8, the essay on Jewish
Joyfulness. The eight volumes of
“Collected Writings of Rabbi
Samson Raphael Hirsch” are
published by Feldheim:
www.feldheim.com

2. In his classical work, “Horeb,”
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
discusses the ethical and
spiritual lessons that can be
learned by fulfilling the
mitzvos of the Torah, including
the mitzvos of the heart and the
mind. It also discusses some of
the “halachos” – the detailed
requirements – of the mitzvos.
Horeb is published by Judaica
Press:
www.judaicapress.com